Control system and mechanism for amusement coasters



June.22 1926. 1,589,792

F. w. DARLING CONTROL SYSTEM AND MECHANISM FOR AMUSEMENT COASTERS FiledJuly 10. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 fkNVENTOR v Q 1 BY I ATTORNEY Jun 221926.

F. W. DARLING CONTROL SYSTEM AND MECHANISM FOR AMUSEMENT COASTERS FiledJuly 1925 S 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EY June 22,1926. 1,589,792

F. W. DARLING- CONTROL SYSTEM AND MECHANISM FOR AMUSEMENT COASTERS FiledJuly 1925 ISSheets-Sheet. :5

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 22, 1926.

. r 1 p, we s.

FRANK W. DARLING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSI I103 TO THE L. A. THOBIPSONSCENIC RAILVJ'AY COMPANY, OF NEW YQPIK, N. w

:1, A COBPQRA'IIUN OF NEW JERSEY.

CONTROL S'SZ'S'ILEM AND MECLEEANISIVI FOE AMUSEMENT CGASTERS.

Application filed July 16, 1925.

This invention relates to amusement coasters and particularly to a novelcontrol system and mechanism incorporated there in for controlling andregulating the speed of the coaster cars in the vicinity of the terminaland assuring the bringing of the car to rest when approaching theterminal with entire safety to the passengers and the equipment.

In the design and construction of amusement coasters and the like, aprime essential is safety in the control and operation thereof. Forexample, it is quite important that the coaster cars when approachingthe terminus shall be under perfect control of the attendant orattendants at all times and under the uncertain conditions of varyingloads carried by the cars, with the consequent variations in frictionalresistance, momentum and velocity. The object of the present in ventiongenerally, is a system of control which is correlated with and as a partof the roaster track structure and on a down gradient such that the carsmay be successively brought to rest at predetermined stopping pointsunder themost severe service conditions and moreover whereby cars onapproaching the terminus are automatically brought to rest in advancethereof, so long as a car is being held at the loading and unloadingplatform. To these ends I have incorporated as part of the trackstructm'e and in ad vauce of the loading and unloading platform, aspecial friction braking mechanism which is always operable when a caris standing at the terminus or unloading platform, to slow up anapproaching car and bring it safely to rest at a predetermined point inadvance of the platforms. This braking mechanism in the particularembodiment herein set forth includes an elongated friction brake membernormally forming a part of the track structure and located a dis tancein advance of the platform which is greater than the length of a car ortrain of cars operated in unison and on down gradient leading to theplatform, whereby upon operation of the brake, the car or train of carsmay be brought to rest at this point and when released from the brakepermitted to roll by gravity on to the platform. My invention alsoincludes a special track braking'mechanism located directly at theplatform to assure the stopping of the car Serial No. 42,642.

or train of cars at the right spot for unloading and loading, and thespecial braking mechanism in advance of the platform is connected withthe special brake at the platform so thatwhile a car or train of cars isbeing held at the platform by the plat form brake, the advance brake isset at emergency position to stop an approaching car or train of cars,and thereby prevent a collision.

It may be desirable in certain cases to incorporate as part of the trackstructure an emergency retarding mechanism in the form of frictiondevices incorporated into the track and in advance of the specialbraking mechanisms to slow up an unduly speeding car and the embodimentof my invention herein illustrated also includes such an emergencyretarding mechanism.

A further object of the invention is a control and braking system of theabove in dicated character which is characterized by its simplicity inconstruction and operation and which may be inexpensively constructedand installed.

F or a better understanding of the invention, including the aboveindicated novel features, and others which will hereinafter appear,reference may be had to the accompanying drawings forming a. part ofthis a pplication wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a coaster track embodying myinvention,

Fig. 2 is an elevational diagrammatic view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the coaster track with a coaster carmounted thereon,

Fig. l is a plan view, more or less diagrammatic, of a modifiedconstruction of brake operating mechanism,

Fig. 5 is a side view thereof, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views more or less dia- 0 of brake and operatingmechanism.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 3 indicates the construction of aspecial coaster track at the loading and unloading platforms with acoaster car mounted thereon. The track includes a pair of uprights 1carrying on the top thereof the traction rails 2. These traction rails 2overhang in an inward direction the uprights l. The uprights 1 areconnected by suitable girders 3.

ammatic of another modified construction The pertinent o a pair of guardor guide wheels iii wherein the cars are operating cated'diagraininatically the terminus This conveyor is continuously operateda,

9, these. wheels 9 having lsaclrets, the upper parts of wliichentendunderneath the overhan ng traction rails The guard wheels 9 on. nirilyremain free from frictional, contact with the track structure but areadapted, uh or the car tends to swerve "from its course or when goingaround curves, to engage the re *tical guard rails 16 which are dispoeedat either side of the track structure immediately below the oi'erhanting traction rails and guide the car on its proper ra ls.'i0 e end wecoaster track by gravit except at the pla form elation and othergne-eleteiinineil points where it (h 'ed to form the guard oil into aspecial. lni'alring mechanism. i

Referring to Figs 1 and 2, I have indicourse. These guardthroughont thatportion o'l t:

special coaster, certainpoints oi which I have conveniently ncl-leadstations Noe 3? A22 and l. The curve in 1 1;. 2 above the datum lineindicates the traction between these points, it being observed thatthere is a gradual drop from station a? station P2 and on to thebeginning of the conveyor indicated diagrammatically at 11.

carry the coaster cars up to the higheet elevation of the coaster trackfrom which the cars gain their gravity. Between the points l and 4-1 Ihave indieated the disposition of the load lug and unloading; platformsand while a car or train of cars is standing at this platform, it isimportant that a car proachin from the rear shall be auto- Q 7 area e wec 1d no t r "11 ll; LO\ Q i nl topic" 1 i n sufficiently in adimnce ol'the p to permit the stopping of a car at the ila't- 1 w H q v +v V V Qliorin alter Jassing such advanced porntanu "to insurethe timelyautomatic slewing up and stopping of an approaching car.

oordingly, at station 39 l have indicated special braking mechanism 14;which is auton'iatically set for operation when a car if; being held atthe platform to arrest and bringto a dead stop a: car approachin fromthe rear, thereby avoiding a collision with a consequent injury to theca passengers and the equipment. A similar brake 15 is disposed betweenthe points 4&0 and ll for brakii-ig and holding a car at the platformand of the the arrangement is such that whenthe brake 15 is in operativeposition for holding one car at the platform, the brake l l is therebyautomatically set to prevent a second car or train o l ears passing thepoint 39. In the particular embodiment illustrated in E 1 and 3 thebrakes 14: and 15 form sections of the guard or check rails on one sideof the wuzlnthose members lil and being in the form of elongated beaione end each of which is securely fastened to the track structure in anysuitable manner. The particular manner of fastening 155mlimportant andtherefore emitted from the illustration. W V

The ends of the brakes 14c and 15 are as d to be noted inward y towa "dthe opposite d or check rails 10 so as to narrow the chute therebetveenand-{to firmly grip tee guard wheels 9 carried by the coaster ca 2* thispurpose each beain carries or eye bolt 16 at its rree d e track floor 16is cut away "o =.cc te this bolt- 16} and permit to he moved back andforth for cperatin the brake lhebralte l i-is co nnected l er tire ctlyor ii'idirectly witlitlie 0 provide for the 4 1 mien a car is being atthe brake 15. In the pairr l and nt illiie'jrated in Figs. brakes ll and15 are conrectee a common c ne-rating lever 17 than ediun of cables 18and 19 s; lever 17 is connected with that as a it'ulcrui'n point an: and19 are fastened in an 7 2. manner to the lower end of this lever it. Clr ends of the cablee 18 1 other pectively with the I i ls of the brakeshoe 3 an-i tire cable 18 passes ulleys 521 While the rritable guideorange ient a single I el the unloading, loadrtin r and stopping of thesin standing in a posh i the lei'er 17. For n a car approaches aterminus passed the oint 39 and a tendant. by operatine the ielirake 15to bring the ear 1 at the platform and since m l connected with the bralte tically sci: siinultaneouslv an Qli-lQl {"i1(iy position which mighta pproach inloa i li nd loaning of a car own It completed. In this con-'i. veil that the brake ll must be disposed at a point suiliciently inadthe platform to pcrinit the overation oi? the brake 15 in time to stopa car 0 arrest :niother car before the at the plat necl ion it ie eatiorni after Missing the special braking mechanism 14 and moreover thisspecial braking mechanism 14 is preferably disposed on a down gradientso as to cause the car to run by gravity on to the platform after havingbeen automatically stopped in advance thereof.

In some cases it may be advisable to install an emergency slowing upmechanism slightly in advance of the special braking mechanism to slowup any car which may be unduly speeding, for any reason, whileapproaching the teaninus, so as to enable the special controlling andbraking mechanisms, to operate with certainty under such conditions toslow up and promptly bring the cars to rest at predetermined points. Forthis purpose I have indicated an elongated brake member disposed betweenthe points 37 and 38, this elongated retarding or braking member 25taking the place of the outer guard rail 10 of the curve at this point.This brake member narrows the chute between it and the opposed guardrail on the other side, the two members gripping the wheels 9 of thecoaster cz r and by friction tending to arrest the car. The brake member25 should be of a character and of the required dimensions foryieldingly gripping the outer guard wheels 9 as they on gage the same ongoing around the curve, and l have found that a straight beam of wood,when properly dimensioned and adjusted with reference to the opposedguard rail 10 and mounted on a curve of the track. will give the desiredresiliency and at the same time the desired slowing up and retardingmovement without the necessity for any special springing out mechanismfor the member 25. It may be adjusted or formed in a manner to impartthe exact retarding effect desired. By means of this arrangement thespeed of each car is brought within safe limits on approaching theterminus, not.- withstanding variations in the weight of the car, theload tarried thereby, and other special conditions.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated a moditied mechanism for operatingthe special braking mechanisms. The special brake members 14: and 15 aresimilar to and correspond with the u-ake members l t and 15 respectivelyof Figs. 1 and 3. These brakes are fixed at one end to a fixedstructural member of the track by means of bolts while the free ends ofthese beams rest upon the cams 31, which cams normally permit the brakeshoe members to be in a line with the side guard rails 10. The brakesare operated by the cams ill and these in turn are operated by a commonlever 32 fulcrumed on a block and connected at its lower end by apivoted link member 3% with an elongated link 35 connected by bellcranks 36 with the spaced cams The operator, by manipulating the lever32 may turn the cams 31 into positions to move the free ends of thebrakes l i and 15 into the path of tne side guard rails 9 of the coastercar, as shown in dotted lines; the functioning and operation of thebraking mechanism being similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1. and

it may be desirable in certain cases to provide brake shoe memberscorresponding to the members and 15 (1st and 153) which are laterallyfixed at both ends, and capal ie of being distorted or bent out of theirnormal straight and alined form to bring their intern'iediate portionsinto frictional engagement with a portion of the coaster car. I haveindicated such an rangement in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein the brake shoemembers are in the form of elongated distortable members it), one endbeing fastened as at ll with a llXGtl part of the track structure, whilethe other end is laterally fixed, but slidable within a fitting 4:2.This fitting includes two metallic straps disposed on opposite sides ofthe end of the brake member at) and an arm l passing through, orotherwise fastened to the slidable end of the member at, the ends ofmember ll being slidable underneath the straps 43 The brake shoe memberis of a character to be readily bent or distorted out of its normalposition to a position in the path of a portion of the car, so that whenthe car passes along it will engage this member and thereby be stoppedin that position. In certain cases it may be of advantage to arrange thebrake shoes so as to close against the car or train of cars byperpendicular or vertical movements instead of lateral or sidemovements, as in Figs. 1 and 3. For example, in the particularembodiment here illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, this brake shoe at) isadapted to frictionally engage the bottom of the car 5 and to therebytend to lift it from its track. The bra :kets of the guard rails 9,however, by coming in contact with the overhanging traction rails 2,pre-- vent the dislocation of the car from the track and the car beingfirmly gripped between the brake l0 and the overhanging traction railsmay be quickly brought to a standstill. The brake e10 may be actuated inany suitable manner as for example by a connecting link 45, connectedwith the cam members 16 which are adapted to engage the brake shoe 4.0at points intermediate its ends to bulge it laterally of itself; theconnecting link e5 may be connected to any convenient operatingmechanism omitted in the drawing for convenience in illustration.

In either of the modifications shown in ii i :1. 3 and (3 therefore thecooperating locking and braking members are adapted to form closedpassages for the car. either by narrowing the chute in a lateraldirection or by narrowing it in a vertical direction,

and in the embodiment of Fig. v(3, the traction rails 2 form also thecheck or guard rails mg inst which. the car actuated by the cooperatingelongated brake and stopping members ll). According to these niodiIcations the cars arepositively brought to a dead stop, therebyproviding a safe and sure control and stopping m chanism for the carsand preventing; any possibility of deraib ment of the and minimizing anypossibility of accident due thereto or due to failure of the controlmechanism.

Having thus described my invention, what- I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is the following: 7

l. A coaster way upon which a coaster car is adapted to travel includinga car locking and stopping member extending along the way against whichthe car is adapted to move in a direction transverse to the line oftravel, a cooperating braking and stopping member laterally spaced fromsaid first named member and operable in a direction transverse to theline of travel and relatively toward said first named member to lock thecar thercbetwecn and bring it to a positive stop, a second braking andstopping member spaced longitudinally along the track from said firstcooperating member and relatively operable towards a car locking andstopping member to bodily move a car in binding engagement thereagainstand to arrest and lock it therebetween, connections between saidcooperating brake operating stopping members for simultaneouslyactuating them and means for relatively operating the brake andcooperating locking members.

A. coaster ay upon which a coaster car is adapted to travel including astationary check rail, said check rail extending along the traction wayand adapted to engage car when it tends to leave the coaster way anddirect it back thereupon, a stop brake member laterally spaced from saidcheck rail and adapted to engage the car and actuate it in a directionto bind against said check rail and form a closed passage for the car, asecond stop brake spaced along the track from the first brake andsimilarly laterally spaced from the checl; rail for engaging a car andactuating it in a direction to bind against the rail and form anotherclosed passage for a car at that point, connections between said stopbrake members whereby they are simultaneously operated to close thepassage for the cars at two ditl'erent points and means for operatingthe stop b 'klkfi members.

In a coaster way upon which a coaster car is adapted to travel, adownward gradient section thereof including a check rail along thecoaster way, against which the car is adapted to be bodily moved indirection trans'tcrse to the line of trawl, an elongated stop brakemember extending along the coaster way, said brake member being normallyout oi? the path oi the car but operable to a position to frictionallyengage the same and actuate it in a direction towards said check rail inbinding and stopping engagement therewith, a second stop brake spacedlongitudinally along the track from the first brake, said second brakebeing of similar character to the first brake and also adapted toactuate a car in a. direction to bind against a check rail, connectionsbetween the brakes causing the simultaneous operation thereof and thesimultaneous cl0- sure of the coaster way to the passage of cars pasteither and means for operating said brakes.

In a coaster way, an unloading plat form and a downy d gradient sectionincluding a pair of traction rails upon which a coaster car is adaptedto travel by gravity, a chute bctwee said rails for the accommoion of adowmva 'dly projecting part or": the coast '1' car, a friction stoplralre disposed along the chute and at the platform and operable tonarrow the chute and term a closed passage on the track forsaid car, asecond stop brake of similar character spaced rcsirvmrdly from the firstbrake by a distance greater man the length or a car and similarly to thefirst operable to a position in the path the downwardly projectiug partoi an approaching car to form a closed pas-* g'e therefor, operativeconnections between the first and second brakes whereby the first brakeis automatically set to close the way when the second brake is in aposition to hold the car at the platform, and means for operating saidbraking mechanisms. I

in a coaster way, a pair of traction rails upon which coaster car isadapted to travel side wals below the level of said tract-ion railsdefining a chute therebetvveen for the accommodation of a doi-vnwarllyproject ing portion of a coaster car, said side walls including a pairotlongitudinally spaced movable sections, each of which is adapted to beactuated to a point to narrow the chute between the walls, connectionsfor operating one of said movable sections and connections between saidmovable sections whereby when. one is sc to operative position to narrowthe chute, the other is simultaneously therewith set to narrow thechute.

(5. A coaster way elf the character set forth in claim in which thefriction brake members normally act as guard rails underneath thetraction rails to guide the coaster car in its proper course.

7. A coaster way of the character set forth in claim 4; including afriction retarding mechanism disposed in advance oil the two brakingmechanisms set forth and adapted to Qti Gil

retard the speed of an approaching car before it reaches the first ofthe special braking mechanisms.

8. In a coaster Way upon which a coaster car is adapted to travel, arail extending along the coaster Way against Which the car is adapted tobodily move in a direction transverse to the line of travel an elongatedstop brake member extending along the coaster Way and spaced laterallyfrom the rail, said brake stopping member being normally out of the pathof a car but operable relatively to the rail to a position tofrictionally engage a. car and form a closed passage therobetwcen forthe car and means for relatively operating said brake stopping and railmembers.

9. A coaster Way of the character set forth in claim 8 wherein the railserves as a safety or check rail for directing the car back to itsproper course upon the coaster Way When it tends to depart therefrom andas a braking and locking member cooperating With the laterally spacedmember for forming a closed passage for the car.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK W. DARLING.

